Breaking the Generational Curse
Terry J. Hallock
Ezekiel 18 (Key Verses: Ezekiel 18:1-4)
March 3, 2002
Having grown up in homes where their fathers physically abused their mothers, why do some men repeat the same pattern in their marriages? Having been victims of abuse in their childhood, why do some women choose to marry men who continue the abuse? Having seen the effects of alcohol on a parent why do some become addicted to it themselves? Why do some of us remain chained to inherited ways of thinking and acting that we know are destructive but that we seem unable to change? After an episode of pain caused by our acting out in the same old broken way why do we say, "I'll never do that again" and yet turn around and do it again over and over and over?
It is the result of being chained to a generational curse. The baton of self-destructive behavior is passed down to each succeeding generation in an unbroken line. The abused becomes the abuser. The victim becomes the victimizer. Warped ways of thinking and self-destructive ways of acting literally become family heirlooms that are diligently preserved and religiously bequeathed to each successive branch of the family. Thus the brokenness and pain of the family continues to flow like a river of acid down through each generation.
A wiser person than I once said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same old negative patterns believing that this time the results will be different. It is Charlie Brown believing that if he just keeps trying to kick the football this time Lucy won't pull it away at the last second and this time he won't find himself lying on the ground in pain. Yet he always does. A person's spirit carries uncounted numbers of scars that exist because of their family's self-destructive habits. Yet they repeat those exact self-destructive patterns believing they'll reap a different harvest. Of course they never do and so the pain continues unabated.
For those who may now find them ...
Terry J. Hallock
Ezekiel 18 (Key Verses: Ezekiel 18:1-4)
March 3, 2002
Having grown up in homes where their fathers physically abused their mothers, why do some men repeat the same pattern in their marriages? Having been victims of abuse in their childhood, why do some women choose to marry men who continue the abuse? Having seen the effects of alcohol on a parent why do some become addicted to it themselves? Why do some of us remain chained to inherited ways of thinking and acting that we know are destructive but that we seem unable to change? After an episode of pain caused by our acting out in the same old broken way why do we say, "I'll never do that again" and yet turn around and do it again over and over and over?
It is the result of being chained to a generational curse. The baton of self-destructive behavior is passed down to each succeeding generation in an unbroken line. The abused becomes the abuser. The victim becomes the victimizer. Warped ways of thinking and self-destructive ways of acting literally become family heirlooms that are diligently preserved and religiously bequeathed to each successive branch of the family. Thus the brokenness and pain of the family continues to flow like a river of acid down through each generation.
A wiser person than I once said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same old negative patterns believing that this time the results will be different. It is Charlie Brown believing that if he just keeps trying to kick the football this time Lucy won't pull it away at the last second and this time he won't find himself lying on the ground in pain. Yet he always does. A person's spirit carries uncounted numbers of scars that exist because of their family's self-destructive habits. Yet they repeat those exact self-destructive patterns believing they'll reap a different harvest. Of course they never do and so the pain continues unabated.
For those who may now find them ...
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